Mr. K's College Knowledge

Hey Everyone, A big part of the college process for most families is finding a way to pay for the cost of tuition, room and board, meals, books, travel, and other expenses. If the total cost of college isn't terrifying enough, the search and application process for scholarships certainly is daunting, to say the least. Most colleges will offer merit scholarships to students just for applying to college and getting accepted, but for the majority of students, there is still a gap that needs to be met, and financial aid does not usually cover all of that. So because of that, most students are forced to sift through hundreds of outside scholarships, find out which ones they are eligible for and then spend hours completing the scholarship application, often requiring a ton of personal information and writing samples. This hard work often can result in receiving free money to use toward's college expenses, but in general, the entire process is arduous, time consuming, and students...

With the Holiday Season upon us, so is the early admissions notification season. Students have begun receiving many acceptances, academic scholarships, financial aid packages, and students are finally starting to see themselves at one or two specific colleges…reality is beginning to set in! A percentage of students have even been accepted to their Early Decision (binding) school and now know where they will be attending in the fall of 2018...how exciting!  However, even though there are a ton of good things happening now, many students also received unpleasant decisions from colleges in the early round with either denials or deferrals. From my desk, the trend continues of schools becoming more and more difficult to get into, even for the most accomplished students. With more young men and women applying to college within our country and across the world, many college application numbers continue to go through the roof, meaning more students will be denied or deferred than ever b...

Hey Everyone, While summer break is almost here, the college news and updates never end! Since Penn State is a popular out-of-state public university for students in the New York/New Jersey area, I thought it would be helpful to share their latest application information. Penn State has always used their own college application, which has been pretty simple for students and counselors to operate, and they really have not changed much in recent memory. However, for the fall of 2017, Penn State will make two big changes to their application process. First, they will no longer request that high school officials send in the student transcript. Instead, students will be asked to self-report their grades. Other public schools do this, such as Rutgers and University of South Carolina, and is fairly simple. On the application, students will input each course and their grade received for all three years, and the senior year courses in which they are enrolled. Then if the student is accept...

As I look out my window at the snow, sleet, and freezing rain pummeling my sidewalk, I am wishing I was back in sunny California, on the top of a hill, looking at the city of San Francisco go on and on towards the ocean. The sky is a vibrant blue, with a slight chill in the breeze. Surrounded by eager college students on the move, I could definitely picture myself here as an undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco. USF has a beautiful and manageable campus with epic views of the Bay Area...with restaurants, shops, museums, and not to mention the countless tech industry companies within walking distance, University of San Francisco seems like an ideal place to study, grow, and prepare for a successful career. Here’s everything you need to know about University of San Francisco , plus my personal perspective below. Key Figures: University of San Francisco was opened in 1855, and was the first university in San Francisco. USF is one of the 28 Jesuit universiti...

Hey Everyone, I had the pleasure of speaking with a representative from the University of East Anglia yesterday, and it sounds like a great opportunity for students potentially looking to study abroad. University of East Anglia is a medium sized university in the relatively small city of Norwich, England. For many, it can be tough to imagine going to college anywhere but in the United States, but it is important to have an open mind, and consider options outside of the states. For one, it can be CONSIDERABLY cheaper to study abroad, and it is a great opportunity to be immersed in a completely different culture and environment, and students can get some of the best education in countries outside the U.S. Below you will find a few highlights of the University of East Anglia and their website, so take a look, give it some thought, and truly imagine yourself completing your undergraduate years in another part of the world! UEA is located in a quintessential English city, very cozy,...

For the past decade, there has been two main avenues to apply to college: the Common Application and applying through the college website. Well, it's about to time to add a third option in there, as the Coalition Application has opened for business for the 2016-2017 college application year. In this post, I want to help students and parents understand what the Coalition is all about and how/when/if it should be used during the college process. We will all know much more as the fall approaches, but as of June, 2016, this is what I know... What is this Coalition: The official name of the Coalition is " The Coalition for Access and Affordability ". This idea was put into motion two years ago when the Common Application infamously crashed during the peak application season, causing students, school counselors, and admissions professionals to basically panic. It was not a pretty scene, and a few top colleges began thinking of new ways to improve the entire application proces...

S o you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college! Get Involved:  Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure...

General Information The second school from my New England college tour was Trinity College  located in Hartford, CT. Trinity College is located about 2 hours from New York City, set on top of the city of Hartford on a ridiculously beautiful 100-acre campus. Trinity is also in the NESCAC athletics conference, often referred to as the "baby ivies". It is a liberal arts and sciences college, but it does house an engineering school with multiple majors. There are just about 2,300 undergraduate students, which makes in an ideal size for students looking for an intimate, but not too small college. The student to faculty ratio is 10:1, the average class size is 19 students, and over 50% of their students complete at least one internship during their time at Trinity. The majority of students come from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, but they have a growing number of international students, which is at about 11% right now. Their main academic buildings surround an enormous...

General Information Another stop on my college tour was at Fairfield University , located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield is a private, liberal arts school with just under 4,000 total undergraduates. It is located on an absolutely pristine campus with views of the Long Island Sound. The 200-acre campus is in the suburbs, but students are only minutes from city life and the beach, and only about 90 minutes from New York City.   The campus has green rolling hills throughout, which creates a perfect place for students to study, throw the frisbee, or just take a nap. When I was there, I even saw the archery club setting up for a practice. Also, it is hard to miss the turkeys that call Fairfield home throughout the year, so watch out for them when walking the campus! To me, it is a perfect mix of nature, wide open spaces, but the campus is in close proximity to downtown and beaches, for students to have fun during their time at school. Fairfield University is one of the 28 Jesuit...

Last week, I visited 10 colleges and universities in Connecticut and New York. Over the next two weeks, I will discuss my thoughts on these schools, share valuable information, and post a few pictures from each school. The first school I want to share with you is Marist College, located in Poughkeepsie, New York. Located only 2 hours north of New York City, it is situated on a beautiful 200 acre campus on the banks of the Hudson River. As soon as you pull off the main road onto their campus, you are struck by the beauty of their surroundings. Lately, Marist has put a lot of time and money into their campus and buildings, and it shows. Most of the buildings are a similar color of gray stone, all of the Division 1 sports fields are located throughout the campus, and their center of school is a gorgeous lawn on a small hill facing the Hudson River. General Information Marist College has just under 4,800 students, which is a really nice size, and boasts a 16:1 student to faculty rati...

The next senior testimonial is from William Hatheway. Enjoy! The college process is a very exciting and important part of high school.  It is necessary to spend the time on it because it does decide the next, very pivotal, four years of your life.  It is a time consuming process, but it is well worth it in the end.             For students just starting the process, it is never too early to start the process.  I would also say to just research colleges based on what you’re interested in studying.  Colleges that you’ve never heard of might make it to your final list as they did on mine.  You’ll be surprised how many schools are out there that have what you’re interested in, so just research all of the schools and add them to your list.  Do not dismiss a school because it may not be ranked high, or not hard to get into.   It is not so much about the name of the school, but rather abou...

At the end of January, I was lucky enough to attend a counselor-fly-in to the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for three days. I have never visited this school and I was impressed with the high level of academics and the beautiful community of students, faculty, and surrounding environment that makes up 'The U". Miami is a research university and has just over 11,000 undergraduates, which makes it a very accessible campus, and allows for students to get to know their faculty and administration and establish relationships to help with their academics and career search. As you can see by the pictures below, the University of Miami is situated on an absolutely beautiful campus surrounding a small lake with water fountains in the middle. Right next to the lake is an outdoor swimming pool with Olympic style diving boards. The University is about 25 minutes outside of Miami, and is in the suburbs of Coral Gables, which is an absolutely pristine town. Academically, the ...

The next student reflection on the college application process is written by senior, Sean Drennan. Enjoy! The college search and application process seems like a daunting task to many rising seniors. To myself it seemed like I had to get over a 10 foot fence. First researching and finding colleges that you would like to visit is a tough task. Getting down the location, size, and type of college you want to attend seems like an easy task but there's so many options that you don't even know where to start. After finding the list of colleges that you want to apply to, the application process comes into play. This was actually the easy part of the process for me. In order to make this part easier many schools that I applied to had rolling admissions or the deadlines were spread out from the months of November through January. This made the essays I had to write easier to spread out thus making them better for the admissions representatives. Another tip for college essays i...

The next student written blog about the college process is from senior,  Gianluca Milea. He has a ton of great advice and experience to share. Enjoy! The college process can be very intimidating at times.  While it is very important to have numerous options, I found it difficult to apply to a limited number of schools.  Although Xavier does not put a maximum on how many schools to which you are allowed to apply, application fees are very expensive and at the end of the day you will only be attending one college.  To begin the process, I visited a myriad of schools, some of which were unrealistic options for me.  After visiting four schools in two days, I decided to create guidelines for my potential college.  While academic rigor is essential, there are many other factors that go into a final college decision: food, campus life, off-campus life, greek life, religious affiliation, athletic programs, housing, location and possibly two of the most i...

     Hello everyone, I have decided to mix-it-up a little bit and have you hear directly from Xavier seniors about their experience throughout the college application and admissions process. The first student to share his story and give feedback and tips is senior, Krist Sokoli . I will continue to add blog posts from other seniors this week and next, so continue to check back to get inside information from those who just went through the process this year. Enjoy! 1.  What was your experience like through the college search and application process? a.        My college search and application experience was pretty  laid back  partially due to me starting my research and work during junior year. I had made sure to ask a lot of the seniors where they were applying to and why they had chosen those schools. I also made sure to ask what they thought about other schools. I found that most of the answers were honest and t...

Saint Peter’s University - This is a small (little over 2,000 students) in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is New Jersey’s only Jesuit University. Their top programs are business, criminal justice, and education, where students are licensed to teach in both New Jersey and New York upon graduation. They have a newly renovated school of education and school of business, with a new stock room. They offer a great study abroad program primarily in Barcelona and Seoul for interested students. Although 50% of students commute, housing is available all four years. 97% of students receive financial aid, but the merit scholarships are what make Saint Peter’s a great catch. All accepted students are awarded at LEAST a $12,000 scholarship towards tuition and $2,000 towards room and board. Also, students with a 3.5 GPA and 1300 SAT (Math and Critical Reading) are in the running for a full scholarship, in which 40 are given out each year. All applicants are also given free applications, which save y...